This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-185804, filed on Sep. 12, 2014, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a rotary impact tool.
A conventional rotary impact tool in which a main hammer and a sub-hammer strike an anvil in a rotating direction to fasten a bolt or a nut is known (for example, see Japanese Patent No. 4457170). The rotary impact tool of Japanese Patent No. 4457170 suppresses so-called misalignment rotation in which an axis of rotation of the sub-hammer from a central axis of rotation of a spindle. In this manner, a rotational striking force obtained by the hammer is suppressed from being reduced while vibration in the axial direction is moderated.
The conventional rotary impact tool includes a brush motor used to rotate the hammer. However, when the input voltage is raised to increase the output of the rotary impact tool, the arc current becomes large. This increases wear in the brush of the brush motor and shortens the motor life.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotation tool that prolongs the life of the motor.
One aspect of the present disclosure is a rotary impact tool that includes a spindle including a rotary axis, an anvil arranged coaxially with the rotary axis in front of the spindle, a main hammer directly or indirectly coupled to the spindle, wherein the main hammer is rotatable about the rotary axis and movable in the axial direction, and the main hammer is configured to engage and strike the anvil to rotate the anvil, a sub-hammer that accommodates at least a portion of the main hammer and at least a portion of the spindle, wherein the sub-hammer rotates integrally with the main hammer, and a brushless motor that rotates the spindle.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.
The invention, together with objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description of the presently preferred embodiments together with the accompanying drawings in which:
An embodiment of a rotary impact tool will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. As illustrated in
The housing 11 is configured of a rear housing 12 which is arranged at the rear end of the rotary impact tool 10 and may be made of a synthetic resin and a front housing 13 which is arranged at the front end of the rotary impact tool 10 and may be made of aluminum.
The rear housing 12 includes a cylindrical storing unit 12a and a grip portion 12b extending downward from the storing unit 12a to form a substantially T shape. A trigger switch 12c that can be press-controlled with a user is arranged on the grip portion 12b. At the lower end of the grip portion 12b, a battery (not illustrated) serving as a power supply of the brushless motor 20 is arranged.
The front housing 13, which may be a cylindrical shape, accommodates a spindle 31, a main hammer 41, a sub-hammer 51, and an anvil 61. A tool attaching unit 62 of the anvil 61 projects from an opening at the front end of the front housing 13. The front housing 13 is fixed to the rear housing 12 with, for example, a plurality of screws (not illustrated).
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The power transmitting mechanism 21 decelerates the rotation of the brushless motor 20 in a ratio of the number of teeth of the sun gear 22 to the number of teeth of the ring gear 24 and increases the torque to drive the spindle 31 at a low speed and a high torque.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
A substantially columnar projecting portion 33 is formed to extend in front of the overhang portion 32 of the spindle 31. The projecting portion 33 is fitted in an engagement hole 64 formed at the rear of the anvil 61.
The main hammer 41, which may be a steel disk having a center through hole, is fitted on the outer periphery of the spindle 31. The main hammer 41 includes a pair of axial projections 42 projecting from the front end of the main hammer 41 toward the anvil 61. The main hammer 41 is rotatable about a rotary axis Ax and is axially movable.
A rotational striking mechanism of the rotary impact tool 10 includes the spindle 31, the main hammer 41, the sub-hammer 51, and the anvil 61. The rotational striking mechanism may further include two first cam grooves 34 formed in the outer circumferential surface of the spindle 31, two second cam grooves 43 formed in the inner circumferential surface of the through hole of the main hammer 41, two steel balls 71 sandwiched between the first cam grooves 34 and the second cam grooves 43, and a spring 72 biasing the main hammer 41 toward the anvil 61. An operation of the rotational striking mechanism will be described below with reference to
As illustrated in
The sub-hammer 51 includes a small-diameter step 52 having a reduced outer diameter on the rear-end side of the sub-hammer 51. A rear-end inner periphery of the small-diameter step 52 is press-fitted in an outer ring of a rolling bearing 81. A ring-like cover 53 is fixed on the front-end side of the sub-hammer 51.
An integrally rotating mechanism, which is configured to rotate the sub-hammer 51 integrally with the main hammer 41, is formed between the outer circumferential surface of the main hammer 41 and the inner circumferential surface of the sub-hammer 51.
As illustrated in
From a rear end side of the sub-hammer 51, an engagement element 74 is fitted in the hole formed by the first groove 44 and the second groove 54. The engagement element 74 is a long member and has, for example, a substantially columnar shape.
As illustrated in
A C-shaped cover ring 75 having a locking function of the engagement element 74 is mounted on the small-diameter step 52 on the rear-end-side outer periphery of the sub-hammer 51. This suppresses the engagement element 74 from improperly dropping out during the assembling operation of the rotary impact tool 10 and makes the assembling operation easy.
The engagement element 74 is fitted in the hole formed by the first groove 44 of the main hammer 41 and the second groove 54 of the sub-hammer 51 to make it possible to integrally rotate the main hammer 41 and the sub-hammer 51 about the rotary axis Ax.
The main hammer 41 is movable in a longitudinal direction by using the engagement element 74 as a guide. In
The spring 72 and a washer 73 are interposed between an annular recessed portion 45 formed on a rear side of the main hammer 41 and the outer ring of the rolling bearing 81. The spring 72 biases the main hammer 41 toward the anvil 61.
The hammers 41 and 51 and the spring 72 integrally rotate about the rotary axis Ax. The spring 72 has helixes that are equal in outer diameter, so that the front end, the rear end, and the middle of the spring 72 all integrally rotate. This structure does not require a torsion-preventing washer and a ball, which are required when the rear end of the spring 72 is received by the spindle 31. Therefore the configuration of the rotational striking mechanism is simplified.
As illustrated in
The tool attaching unit 62, which may have a square cross section to attach a socket body for fastening the head of a hexagon bolt or a hexagon nut, is arranged at the front end of the anvil 61.
One pair of radial projections 66 are formed at the rear of the anvil 61 to engage with the axial projections 42 of the main hammer 41.
As illustrated in
The radial projections 66 of the anvil 61 and the axial projections 42 of the main hammer 41 may not be paired (two). When the numbers of the projections 42, 66 are equal to each other, the anvil 61 and the main hammer 41 each may have three or more projections arranged at equal angular interval.
On the anvil 61, a ring-like flange 67 is formed to be in contact with the pair of radial projections 66. On the outer side of the flange 67, the ring-like cover 53 is disposed to cover the front open end of the cylindrical tube of the sub-hammer 51. An 0 ring 55 may be disposed between the cover 53 and the sliding bearing 65 to prevent a gap from being formed between the cover 53 and the sub-hammer 51.
An operation of the rotary impact tool 10 according to the embodiment will be described below.
When the brushless motor 20 rotates, the rotation is decelerated by the power transmitting mechanism 21 and transmitted to the spindle 31 to rotate the spindle 31 at a predetermined rotating speed. A rotating force of the spindle 31 is transmitted to the main hammer 41 through the steel balls 71 fitted between the first cam grooves 34 of the spindle 31 and the second cam grooves 43 of the main hammer 41.
As illustrated in
When the main hammer 41 rotates, the anvil 61 is rotated with engagement between the axial projections 42 of the main hammer 41 and the radial projections 66 of the anvil 61, and the rotating force of the main hammer 41 is transmitted to the anvil 61. With the rotation of the anvil 61, the socket body (not illustrated) attached to the tool attaching unit 62 of the anvil 61 rotates to give a rotating force to the bolt or the nut, so that initial fastening is performed.
When a load torque applied to the anvil 61 increases with the progress of the fastening of the bolt or the nut, as illustrated in
While the steel balls 71 move along inclined surfaces of the first cam grooves 34 and the second cam grooves 43 in a direction indicated by an arrow F against the biasing force B of the spring 72, the main hammer 41 moves in an X direction.
As illustrated in
When the axial projections 42 of the main hammer 41 are disengaged from the radial projections 66 of the anvil 61 to release the biasing force B of the compressed spring 72, the main hammer 41 advances at a high speed in a direction opposite to the X direction while rotating in a direction opposite to the Y direction.
As illustrated in
The operations are repeated to repeatedly perform the rotational striking to the anvil 61.
The operation executed when the bolt or the nut is fastened has been described above. However, at the time of loosening a fastened bolt or nut, almost the same operations as those performed in fastening are performed by the rotational striking mechanism. In this case, the brushless motor 20 is rotated in a direction opposite to the direction in fastening to cause the steel balls 71 to move in an upper right direction along the first cam grooves 34 illustrated in
An operation of the sub-hammer 51 in rotational striking will be described below in comparison with a rotary impact tool having only a main hammer.
When the axial projections 42 of the main hammer 41 are disengaged from the radial projections 66 of the anvil 61, the spring 72 is released from a compressed state, and energy accumulated in the spring 72 is discharged as kinetic energies of the main hammer 41 and the sub-hammer 51.
With the operations of the first cam grooves 34, the second cam grooves 43, and the steel balls 71, as indicated by the track G in
The axial projections 42 of the main hammer 41 collide with the radial projections 66 of the anvil 61 to give rotational impact to the anvil 61. The front end surface of the main hammer 41 collides with the rear end surface of the anvil 61 to give impact in an axial direction.
Striking the anvil 61 by the main hammer 41 is performed, for example, about 40 times per second. With the impact given, vibrations occur in a direction orthogonal to the rotary axis Ax of the spindle 31 and the axial direction of the spindle 31.
Since these vibrations fatigue an operator to deteriorate operating efficiency and to numb his/her hand, the vibrations are preferably reduced as much as possible. Of the vibrations, a vibration in the axial direction of the spindle 31 is generated mainly by impact given in the axial direction by the main hammer 41. On the other hand, impact given in the axial direction by the main hammer 41 does not contribute to fastening a bolt or a nut. An intensity of impact in the axial direction by a hammer is in proportion to the mass of the hammer, and an intensity of rotational impact is in proportion to the moment of inertia (total sum of products of the masses of parts in an object and the squares of distances from the parts to a rotating axis).
When a rotational striking is performed to the anvil 61 by using one hammer, the mass of the hammer needs to be reduced to reduce impact in the axial direction. However, since the moment of inertia decreases when the mass of the hammer is simply reduced, the rotational impact also decreases to weaken the rotational striking force of the anvil 61.
To address the above problems, the rotary impact tool 10 according to the embodiment includes the sub-hammer 51 which is separated from the main hammer 41 fitted on the spindle 31. The sub-hammer 51 rotates integrally with the main hammer 41 but does not move in the axial direction of the spindle 31.
For example, the total mass of the main hammer 41 and the sub-hammer 51 is set almost equal to the mass obtained in the case where only one hammer is used, and the mass of the sub-hammer 51 is set to be greater than the mass of the main hammer 41.
In the hammer configuration described above, impact strength applied in the rotating direction of the anvil 61 and caused by releasing the spring 72 from the compressed state is in proportion to the moments of inertia of the hammers, i.e., a sum of the moments of inertia of the main hammer 41 and the sub-hammer 51. On the other hand, the impact strength applied in the axial direction by the main hammer 41 and the sub-hammer 51 is in proportion to the mass of only the main hammer 41. Thus, mass of the sub-hammer 51 contributing only to the rotational impact strength is made larger than the mass of the main hammer 41 as much as possible to make it possible to reduce the impact strength applied in the axial direction by the main hammer 41.
Furthermore, in the embodiment, by using the fact that the magnitude of a moment of inertia is in proportion to the square of a radius of rotation, the moment of inertia is increased. For example, since most of the mass of the sub-hammer 51 having the cylindrical tube is concentrated on a large-radius part, a moment of inertia is larger than that obtained when a columnar sub-hammer having its mass concentrated on a center of rotation is employed, and an impact strength generated by the sub-hammer increases.
Thus, when the hammers (the main hammer 41 and the sub-hammer 51) according to the embodiment, the rotary impact tool 10 in which an impact strength applied in the rotating direction of the anvil 61 is large and a vibration generated in the axial direction of the spindle 31 is small can be achieved.
The electrical configuration of the rotary impact tool 10 will now be described.
Referring to
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Each of the switching elements Sw1 to Sw6 is switched on and off by a motor control signal (gate on/off signal) output from the controller 100 in accordance with the rotation position of the brushless motor 20 sent from the rotation position detector S. In response to the motor control signal, the switching elements Sw1 to Sw6 change the duty ratio, which is the on/off ratio, to supply the brushless motor 20 with three-phase drive power converted from the DC voltage of the battery.
In the present embodiment, when generating rotation with the brushless motor 20, the controller 100 of the rotary impact tool 10 provides each of the switching elements Sw1 to Sw6 with a motor control signal corresponding to modes A to F illustrated in
The motor control of the rotary impact tool 10 in the present embodiment will now be described.
In the rotary impact tool 10 of the present embodiment, the controller 100 controls the switching elements Sw1 to Sw6 of the drive circuit 102. For example, when voltage having the same phase as the induced voltage is applied to the brushless motor 20, inductance components of the motor coils 20u, 20v, and 20w retard the phase of the coil current flowing through the motor coils 20u, 20v, and 20w. To compensate for the retardation, for example, the controller 100 is configured to advance the phase of the applied voltage in accordance with the induced voltage at the motor coils 20u, 20v, and 20w so that the phase of the coil current flowing through the motor coils 20u, 20v, and 20w advances and conforms to the phase of the induced voltage. The angle advancement control increases the output of the brushless motor 20.
The advantages of the embodiment will now be described.
(1) The rotary impact tool 10 includes the brushless motor 20 that rotates the spindle 31. The brushless motor 20 is not subject to brush wear that occurs in a brush motor. This prolongs the life of the brushless motor 20.
(2) The rotary impact tool 10 includes the rotation position detector S that detects the rotation position of the brushless motor 20. This ensures detection of the rotation position of the brushless motor 20 (rotor) and allows for stable operation of the brushless motor 20.
(3) The controller 100 executes angle advancement control on the brushless motor 20. This allows for an increase in the output of the brushless motor 20.
It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Particularly, it should be understood that the present invention may be embodied in the following forms.
The controller 100 may execute conduction angle control (overlap conduction angle control) on the brushless motor.
The outer cover 74c of the engagement element 74 may be omitted.
As long as the outer cover 74c is elastic in the radial direction, the cross-sectional shape may be changed to one other than a C-shaped cross-section.
The present disclosure includes the embodiments described below.
A rotary impact tool (10) includes a spindle (31), an anvil (61), a main hammer (41), a sub-hammer (51), and a brushless motor (20). The spindle (31) includes a rotary axis (Ax). The anvil (61) is arranged coaxially with the rotary axis (Ax) in front of the spindle (31). The main hammer (41) is directly or indirectly coupled to the spindle (31). The main hammer (41) is rotatable about the rotary axis (Ax) and movable in the axial direction, and the main hammer is configured to engage and strike the anvil (61) to rotate the anvil (61). The sub-hammer (51) accommodates at least a portion of the main hammer (41) and at least a portion of the spindle (31). The sub-hammer (51) rotates integrally with the main hammer (41). The brushless motor (20) rotates the spindle (31).
The rotary impact tool (10) further includes a rotation position detector (S) that detects a rotation position of the brushless motor (20).
The rotary impact tool (10) further includes a controller (100) that controls the brushless motor (20). Preferably, the controller (100) is configured to execute angle advancement control on the brushless motor (20).
The rotary impact tool (10) further includes a controller (100) that controls the brushless motor (20). Preferably, the controller (100) is configured to execute conduction angle on the brushless motor (20).
Preferably, the brushless motor (20) includes at least one motor coil (20u, 20v, 20w), and the angle advancement control advances a phase of a voltage applied to the brushless motor (20) in accordance with a phase of an induced voltage at the at least one motor coil.
Preferably, the brushless motor (20) includes at least one motor coil (20u, 20v, 20w), and the conduction angle control extends a commutation time of the motor coils to produce a commutation overlap period before and after commutation.
The above embodiments and modified examples may be appropriately combined.
The invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments and various changes and modifications of its components may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, the components disclosed in the embodiments may be assembled in any combination for embodying the present invention. For example, some of the components may be omitted from all components disclosed in the embodiments. Further, components in different embodiments may be appropriately combined. The scope of the present invention and equivalence of the present invention are to be understood with reference to the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2014-185804 | Sep 2014 | JP | national |